16GB RAM vs 32GB RAM

[Deathwing1306]

Hey, I have been wondering for a while and I was thinking about buying 2 more 8GB ram sticks so my PC has total of 32GB RAM.

I would like to ask you, is the +16GB worth it ?

I have seen few benchmarks and fps wise it doesn't really seem like anything changes at all, except for some games. Does it also affect anything else than fps ? like stutters, lag spikes and these kinds of annoying things ?

I would like to play the newest and very hardware hungry games on as high settings as possible like: Hogwarts Legacy, Red Dead Redemption 2, Dead Space Remake, RE4 Remake, Starfield, Lords of the Fallen, etc.

Some of these games do have minimum RAM requirements same as the recommended RAM requirements.

Starfield min = 16GB, rec = 16GB
Dead Space Remake min = 16GB, rec = 16GB

Wil the performance increase in these types of games which list 16GB as minimum as well as recommended ? or will the performance stay identical no matter the RAM capacity ?

Thanks!

[GOD RAYS ON ULTRA™]

Fyi:
Starfield only uses 12g ram and 3.5 VRAM on medium settings at 1440p ultra wide.

[nullable]

More RAM isn't going to increase your performance, unless you were having performance issues from not having enough RAM.

There are plenty of instances where 16GB might not be always enough, if you're hitting those, then sure an upgrade would be warranted. If not upgrading RAM now would just save you from having to do it later.

[Deathwing1306]

W O K E I S M님이 먼저 게시:

Deathwing1306님이 먼저 게시:

So in short, if I want to increase my RAM to 32GB, I should do it as 2x16GB instead of 4x8GB.

Oh, hell no, who told you that? You always populate all your dimms so you can take advantage of your ranks.

Four dimms has an advantage always over two. The only advantage that two dimms ever had over four is overclocking, and that's a CPU issue not RAM. The CPU gets stressed if you have four dimms and overclock.

https://www.techspot.com/article/1971-more-ram-modules-better-for-gaming/

I have never oveclocked my CPU, I saw benchmarks in which 4x8GB perform better in terms of FPS than 2x16GB, but people are telling me here that I should do 2x16GB instead of 4x8GB...

I have also made some research on my MB and it seems like that dual channel is either the best way or the only way for it to work ? idk lol

[Deathwing1306]

These are my full PC specs in case someone was wondering:

MB: ASUS PRIME B550M-K
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500, 3.60GHz (ENDORFY Fera 5 Dual Fan)
GPU: AMD SAPPHIRE RADEON NITRO+ RX 5700 XT BE, 8GB, GDDR6
RAM: Kingston HyperX Predator, 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4, 3333MHz CL16
SSD: Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1000GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 1000GB, WD10EZEX
PSU: Be quiet! Straight Power 11, 750W 80PLUS GOLD

[SenMithrarin85]

_I_님이 먼저 게시:

✨Saint✨님이 먼저 게시:

Ram helps your computer to run faster, just remember it will also produce more heat.

:saint:

this is so wrong
more ram only helps if you need more than what you have
as for heat, ~10w dimm is nothing compared to what the cpu or gpu produce

faster ram will help with specific tasks
when using an igpu, fast ram makes a huge difference
for gaming, its very little difference

ive seen differences of 10-12fps between 2600mhz and 3200mhz ddr4, so that isn't true.

[Crashed]

✨Saint✨님이 먼저 게시:

Ram helps your computer to run faster, just remember it will also produce more heat.

:saint:

The amount of increased heat is not that significant, and can be minimized by using 2 sticks instead of 4.

[De Hollandse Ezel]

Deathwing1306님이 먼저 게시:

These are my full PC specs in case someone was wondering:

MB: ASUS PRIME B550M-K
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500, 3.60GHz (ENDORFY Fera 5 Dual Fan)
GPU: AMD SAPPHIRE RADEON NITRO+ RX 5700 XT BE, 8GB, GDDR6
RAM: Kingston HyperX Predator, 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4, 3333MHz CL16
SSD: Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1000GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 1000GB, WD10EZEX
PSU: Be quiet! Straight Power 11, 750W 80PLUS GOLD

having 4 sticks of ram in a motherboard&cpu that can only handle 2 channels.. does not offer much over having 2.


that motherboard supports upto 4866mhz ram..
32GB GB 2x16GB 4800mhz CL20 costs about 120 euro.

and having 4800Mhz vs 3333MHZ does cause considerable better fps.

adding just 16GB of similar 3333MHZ ram cost about 45 euro.
so thats a lot cheaper... but having 20 more FPS would worth the extra money to me.

[Deathwing1306]

De Hollandse Ezel님이 먼저 게시:

Deathwing1306님이 먼저 게시:

These are my full PC specs in case someone was wondering:

MB: ASUS PRIME B550M-K
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500, 3.60GHz (ENDORFY Fera 5 Dual Fan)
GPU: AMD SAPPHIRE RADEON NITRO+ RX 5700 XT BE, 8GB, GDDR6
RAM: Kingston HyperX Predator, 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4, 3333MHz CL16
SSD: Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1000GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 1000GB, WD10EZEX
PSU: Be quiet! Straight Power 11, 750W 80PLUS GOLD

having 4 sticks of ram in a motherboard&cpu that can only handle 2 channels.. does not offer much over having 2.


that motherboard supports upto 4866mhz ram..
32GB GB 2x16GB 4800mhz CL20 costs about 120 euro.

and having 4800Mhz vs 3333MHZ does cause considerable better fps.

adding just 16GB of similar 3333MHZ ram cost about 45 euro.
so thats a lot cheaper... but having 20 more FPS would worth the extra money to me.

I have no idea in what country you live, but in my country, 2x16GB DDR4, 4600MHz CL19 costs around 160€...

Also the 3333MHz ones I already have are worth 77€ here...

[_I_]

SenMithrarin85님이 먼저 게시:

_I_님이 먼저 게시:

this is so wrong
more ram only helps if you need more than what you have
as for heat, ~10w dimm is nothing compared to what the cpu or gpu produce

faster ram will help with specific tasks
when using an igpu, fast ram makes a huge difference
for gaming, its very little difference

ive seen differences of 10-12fps between 2600mhz and 3200mhz ddr4, so that isn't true.

10-12fps is very little imho

[PopinFRESH]

Deathwing1306님이 먼저 게시:

These are my full PC specs in case someone was wondering:

MB: ASUS PRIME B550M-K
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500, 3.60GHz (ENDORFY Fera 5 Dual Fan)
GPU: AMD SAPPHIRE RADEON NITRO+ RX 5700 XT BE, 8GB, GDDR6
RAM: Kingston HyperX Predator, 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4, 3333MHz CL16
SSD: Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1000GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 1000GB, WD10EZEX
PSU: Be quiet! Straight Power 11, 750W 80PLUS GOLD

This helps alot.

In regards to your other post about seeing benchmarks where 4x DIMMs had a performance difference compared to 2x DIMMs on this AMD platform, that is a bit deeper of a topic dealing with the number or memory ranks. Memory ranks are essentially the logical partitioning of the memory address space. So that specific topic is less to do with using 1DPC or 2DPC and more to do with the total number of ranks across the DIMM configuration. Typically an 8GB DDR4 module is going to be single-rank and a 16GB DDR4 module is going to be dual rank.

I just double checked your motherboards manual

ASUS PRIME B550M-K[dlcdnets.asus.com]

4x DIMM, Max. 128GB, DDR4 4400(O.C.)/4000(O.C.)/3866(O.C.)/3600(O.C.)/3400(O.C.)/3200/3000/2800/2666/2400/2133, Un-buffered

So if you are currently running 3333MT/s memory modules those shouldn't have any issue with just adding 2x additional 8GB modules like you were thinking.

However, you seem more interested in getting a bit improved performance rather than just the general better performance with typical desktop and multi-tasking by having more memory capacity. You could get improved performance on your Ryzen platform by getting a better memory kit with more optimal frequency and lower timings (regardless if you increase your capacity from 16GB to 32GB).

The 3rd Gen Ryzen CPUs have a bit more complex architecture compared to older CPUs due to how they've moved to a "chiplet" based approach along with an "I/O" chip for communication between the chiplets and the rest of the system. This communication is done across what AMD calls the "Infinity Fabric". On the 3rd Gen Ryzens they improved the memory compatibility with how the memory controller works in relation to the infinity fabric, and in relation to the CPU core clocks.

AMD specifies the max memory speed is 3200MT/s with either 2x1R (e.g. 2 DIMMS that are single rank) or 2x2R (e.g. 2 DIMMs that are dual rank); or 2933MT/s for 4x1R (4 DIMMs that are single rank), or 2667MT/s for 4x2R (e.g. 4 DIMMs that are dual rank).

With DDR (double data rate) the "Mega-Transfers" per second (MT/s) is double the actual memory frequency. So your 3300MT/s memory kit is running with the memory controller frequency of 1650MHz. You will have better performance if you can keep the ratio of the PCIe controller (in the CPU), the infinity fabric, and the memory controller all at a 1:1:1 frequency ratio. The majority of those CPUs I/O chip can hit an 1800MHz infinity fabric clock (referred to as FCLK, or Fabric Clock, in BIOS). The sweet spot for memory on those Ryzen 5000 CPUs is 3600MT/s with an Overclock on the memory controller (which is done by the DOCP profile) and an Overclock on the Infinity Fabric so you run at 1:1:1 with the FCLK at 1800MHz.

Doing this will not only result in a higher memory bandwidth (due to running 3600MT/s vs 3300MT/s, assuming they are the same CAS latency (CL), but it will also increase the performance of the CPU cores talking to the I/O chip over the infinity fabric.

I'd personally recommend Gskil Triden Z neo either 4x8GB or 2x16GB

Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16Q-32GTZN[www.gskill.com]
Trident Z Neo F4-3600C16D-32GTZN[www.gskill.com]

Or the Kingston Fury Renegade either 4x8GB or 2x 16GB

Kingston Fury Renegade[www.kingston.com]

I'd lean toward the Triden Z neo because it has slightly better timings but both are CL16.

If you do this you'll want to reset your memory config in BIOS and then reselect the DOCP profile to apply the memory overclock, then after doing so change the FCLK Frequency option from auto to 1800MHz

B550 Series BIOS Manual[dlcdnets.asus.com]

EDIT: Also, if you do the above and happen to have failed the "silicon lottery" (e.g. were very unlucky and got a chip that isn't able to run at an 1800MHz FCLK stable) then you can apply the DOCP profile and then manually change the Memory frequency to 3200MT/s and FCLK to 1600MHz.

[Deathwing1306]

_I_님이 먼저 게시:

SenMithrarin85님이 먼저 게시:

ive seen differences of 10-12fps between 2600mhz and 3200mhz ddr4, so that isn't true.

10-12fps is very little imho

if the 10-12 fps gain is in a game which runs at like 50-60 fps, it's huge, but if it's such an increase in a game which runs at 130+ fps, doesn't really matter.

[_I_]

Deathwing1306님이 먼저 게시:

_I_님이 먼저 게시:

10-12fps is very little imho

if the 10-12 fps gain is in a game which runs at like 50-60 fps, it's huge, but if it's such an increase in a game which runs at 130+ fps, doesn't really matter.

in those tests, what was the results for each ram speed?
if its 300 vs 315, thats not noticeable at all

[MoonC A T]

Bad 💀 Motha님이 먼저 게시:

Deathwing1306님이 먼저 게시:

4x8GB is better though by looking at benchmark... I already have 2x8GB in my PC so I would just rather buy second 2x8GB kit instead of buying 2x16GB. The question is if it makes a big difference, especially with the hardware overkill games like Starfield or Lords of the Fallen.

Nope it's not been that way in many many years and on many motherboards you won't be able to use all 4x DIMM slots above a certain lower/limiting speed; so why ever do this.

Always go with 2x 16GB or 2x 32GB
They already will be in Dual Channel; nothing changes when you use 4x DIMMs on a Dual Channel Motherboard in terms of it being any kind of a PLUS.

2x16...always. It's easier to upgrade later instead of having to buy all new RAM since 4x8 takes up all the slots.

Also 4x8 is significantly more expensive than buying 2x16 (relatively speaking, of course. It's usually a 15-25% price difference).

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Deathwing1306님이 먼저 게시:

_I_님이 먼저 게시:

nope
dual channel, is to run 2 dimms at full speed at the same time
4 dimms is the same shared speed, split across 2 more dimms

boards can run in hybrid/mixed/flex mode for 3 dimms or mismatched sizes
dual ch speeds for 2x the smaller dimm in matching channel banks, and the remainder in single ch speed (a1-b1 and a2-b2)

Your answers are being very complex to me... so basically it doesn't matter if I put 2 or 4 RAM into my motherboard, the performance will stay identical ?

Depends what you use the PC for. Again on most motherboard they will NOT be able to run the max advertised ram speed when populating all 4 DIMMS. Dual Channel only requires two matching RAM installed in the proper slots.

Download the PDF manual for Motherboard before purchase and read the details within to find all of this out. They will only detail this inside the manual and it's details are still quite vague at best anyways. While it might support up to 128GB RAM (32gb in each slot) all at the same time, it might be limited on RAM speed when using all 4.

16GB is the bare minimum now.
So building or upgrading and only having 16GB total RAM is very foolish. More RAM won't help FPS but it will help those game worlds load more stuff all at the same time. Your OS and background apps/services needs approx 4-6 GB of ram alone. Demanding games should be able to have access to 16GB all by itself. So if you limit your PC to 16GB total RAM that does not make for a good experience at all. You'll be forced to limit open apps/services and/or be constanting having to exit a game every so often and restart it in order to make better use of less RAM.

[SpiraTech]

Go for 32GB RAM, it's one of the cheapest PC upgrades and once them slots are filled it's harder to upgrade. Everything uses the extra cache eventually.